are improving the foundations for New Zealand. We will leave New
Zealand and New Zealanders better
off in the future. Well done, Doocey
Victims' Protection Bill, third reading. Jan Logie. I move that the
Protection Bill be now read a third time. I would like to dedicate my
speech today to every victim of
domestic violence
domestic violence who ever felt trapped. And to every person
who had an employee or workmate
who has being abused and didn't know
how to help. It's a great honour for me
to be able to stand here today and
welcome in this new area
and our response to domestic violence. And
I want to thank Labour and New Zealand
First for their support. The debate
on this bill has made me more
grateful than ever to New Zealand
First for their decision to
change the Government. It's
really exciting to be part of a Government that
wants to really get to the heart of
the things that are holding us back
as a country. In
this beautiful, gutsy, vibrant country of ours
police are called out to a family
violence incident every four
minutes. And that's only about 20
to
adults and many more children currently live in fear of their
partner or parent. We
have a problem. We will not solve
this problem by continuing to focus all
of our resources and efforts on
what happens after the police
have been called. The
called. The previous Government's stocktake on Government spending
found only
stocktake on Government spending
budgets go to prevention. And only
wait until things get really bad or someone is killed and then we wring
our hands, squeeze in another
hospital bed and build another
prison. No wonder
hospital bed and build another
violence has become entrenched. This bill is a commitment to
early intervention and prevention. The
impact of every workplace in
Aotearoa saying the safety
and wellbeing of our staff experiencing
domestic violence is our
wellbeing of our staff experiencing
this challenges the fundamental social dynamic that has allowed this
Tonight,
Tonight, we are changing social norms and making a commitment to
a better future for all of us.
Domestic violence is not restricted
to the home. It reaches
into workplaces all over our country
stalking, constant emails, phone calls, attacks or threats in and
outside of the workplace, making
her late or making her miss work
altogether, punishing her
for being late, these are common
tactics of abuse. And they can be directed
at the victim or the victim's work
mates. They undermine the safety and
productivity of our workplaces.
mates. They undermine the safety and productivity of our workplaces. All
too often victims have to leave
their jobs because of this. It makes
them more reliant on their
abusive partner and means their employer
has to recruit and train up new staff.
It is a
to recruit and train up new staff.
mates or employers are often the only people who know
about the violence but too many don't know
how to help. It's pretty hard
to flee the violence when your
abuser knows when and where you work and
can easily find you. That is a real risk
and means some victims return to
their abusers because at least
they know where they are and feel
they can manage the violence there. Not
knowing how the manage this risk in
our workplaces puts lives at risk.
Then there's the situation of a
victim who does manage to
leave. We've heard from victim, court staff
and survivors them selves that
existing leave provisions
are sometimes not enough to be able
to deal with the courts, find
a new house, go to counselling or support
their children dealing with trauma.
It doesn't make sense to
tell victims that we want them
to leave and then force them into
poverty when they do.
and then force them into poverty when they do. Again, employers lose
great staff.
when they do. Again, employers lose great staff. Women's refuge research
who had been in a violent relationship were in
before the relationship started, but fewer than half managed to
stay in work. Those who stayed
faced numerous hardships affecting their
future employment prospects and
those who left found it difficult
to
frequently spoke about being forced to quit or having their
employment situations made untenable by
the abuser. The need for improved
flexible
flexible working arrangements, additional leave, and protection
from
from discrimination is
definition is clear and the appropriateness of this
response has been tested in an
appropriateness of this response has
number of businesses here and overseas. Yet we have been hearing
from the opposition that despite
their commitment to
tackling family violence,
violence, they couldn't possibly support this bill
because we're ignoring children. It's too much
to extend leave to
support people. Businesses will fall over. Every
victim will take 10 days'
leave a year. It's a cost to business. It
has become here to me through
this debate that many of the National
Party members speaking
on this bill have not even bothered to read it,
let alone the research that
supports
For any employers out there who are watching this debate, I want
you to know that the leave only applies
to victims and people caring
for children who are victims. It
entitles victims for up to 10 days'
leave a year and yet experience
shows that most victims don't take
that full 10 days. On
this side of the House, our debate has been
founded on rigorous
economic and social research from New Zealand
and overseas, grounded in
the experiences of workplaces who are
doing this already. What
this research has found is that the
initial cost of implementing these
policy right across the country,
would be less than an annual
wage increase in a bad year. And that is
rapidly offset from returns
from lower staff turnover and increased
productivity. So don't buy
the lie that this will be a cost. This is
a
In Australia, one of the largest advocates of this policies is the
Retailers Association who represent
many
Retailers Association who represent
businesses. So we have a massive social problem measured in
lives lost, profound harm done and
significant lost
significant lost productivity to business. This bill is a win for
victims, a win for business and
ultimately a win for all of us. And
it's been seven years to get here
today. I want to thank some of
the individuals who have played a really
important role in drafting, advising
and organising, who may
not have been visible.
and organising, who may not have been visible. Lisa Close, Eva heart,
Shaun, Sanders
been visible. Lisa Close, Eva heart,
you for your work. Of course to acknowledge the peer say who started
championing this
championing this clause in 2011 and all the other union, first Union, E
Tu, PPTA and the nurses who
have been putting these policies on
the bargaining table for years now. It
has been wonderful to see, count
down the Warehouse, Vodafone,
the ANZ and so many other
businesses following that lead and doing this
of their own lead. Of course shine
and Women's Refuge who have been
supporting these businesses to
do this work. Susan snidely
has done the New Zealand economic modelling
to show the benefits, NZW is onto
the international BPW and
Jackie Blue for bringing businesses
together to develop resources
to make this easy for other
businesses. All of these
groups, businesses and people get that we are
in this together, that domestic
violence is something that we all have
a stake in reducing. That is the context
of this bill. That is the
tide of history. Today we will
become the first country in the world to
provide these protections
as universal entitlements. Today
we stand for a future free
of domestic violence.
violence.
green, the work shall be done. The work will be complete.
The question is that the motion be agreed to. I
call Judith Collins.
Order! We'll start the clock again and I call the Hon Judith Collins.
It has been interesting to listen to
MsJan Logie's speech to the House,
very impassioned speech. I
congratulate her on. I
would like to say as a member of the executive,
which I understand she is, I
am surprised that this hasn't been
advanced as a Government bill paid
for by the taxpayer through the
budget process when